Smoke rises from Daesh positions after an airstrike, on October 18, 2016, amid operations to liberate the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. (Photo by AP)

The long-awaited battle for Mosul enters its third day, in a push which has seen the Iraqi army join forces with various military groups in the country, including Shia, Sunni and Kurdish forces, to drive out Daesh terrorists from their last stronghold in Iraq. Mosul slipped into the hands of Daesh in the summer of 2014. It took months for the army and pro-government volunteer forces to prepare for the decisive offensive to liberate the strategic northern city.

— Iraq’s Joint Operations Command (JOC) said the army’s fighter jets have carried out an airstrike against Bartalah district east of Mosul, killing the self-proclaimed Nineveh provincial governor, Waed Younis, and 32 of his aides.The JOC added that 25 Daesh members were killed as Iraqi forces wrested control over al-Hamdaniya district . The remaining terrorist fled the area to save their lives.

—Daesh terrorists carried out two car bombings against Iraqi forces in Hamdaniya district, located 35 kilometers southeast of Mosul, as the Takfiri group goes on the defensive ahead of the ground operations due to start later in the day.

— The Iraqi army and fighters of the Popular Mobilization Units, known as Hashed al-Sha’abi, are the main forces to attend the Wednesday battles.

—Since the early hours of Wednesday, Daesh positions south of Mosul have been hit by airstrikes.

— The Popular Mobilization Units has announced in a statement that its forces would not march into Mosul, located some 400 kilometers north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, and would instead keep its positions on the western flank of the city,where they will work to thwart foreign plots aimed at impeding the operation.

The statement underlined that only Iraqi army soldiers and security personnel would enter Mosul, while pro-government forces would fight for the liberation of the city of Tal Afar, situated 63 kilometers west of Mosul.